Turkish P.M. Talks About Stepping Down

SUZAN FRASER

Published
6:00 pm CST, Monday, March 10, 2003

Associated Press Writer

Prime Minister Abdullah Gul said he would step down to make way for the popular leader of his party as Turkey grapples with whether to authorize the deployment of U.S. troops for a possible war in Iraq.

Justice and Development Party leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan won a seat in by-elections by a massive margin Sunday, opening the way for him to replace Gul as prime minister. Erdogan could not run in November general elections because of a conviction for inciting religious hatred, but legislators have since amended the constitution to lift his ban.

Gul told reporters Monday that he would resign as soon as Erdogan is sworn in parliament _ a development that could occur as early as Tuesday.

"After he has taken his oath, I will go to the president and open the way for the formation of a new government," Gul said.

President Bush called Erdogan on Monday to congratulate him on his election victory and pressed him to open Turkey to U.S. troops, the newspaper Hurriyet reported.

The change of government comes as Washington urges Turkey to authorize the use of its soil as a staging point for an invasion of Iraq from the north. Ships carrying equipment for the troops are already off the Turkish coast.

Despite overwhelming opposition to war in Turkey, Erdogan has advocated allowing U.S. combat troops in for a possible war and has hinted that he favored resubmitting a motion to parliament to give U.S. soldiers the go-ahead. Parliament earlier this month voted down a first motion.

Rebuffing the United States risks straining ties with Washington and losing a say in the future of Iraq. Turkey is also set to receive a $15 billion U.S. aid package to help cushion the frail economy from the impact of war.

Analysts believe that the election victory has strengthened Erdogan's hand, with his words likely to have a stronger impact on party legislators. Erdogan is also likely to exclude ministers opposed to troop deployment from his cabinet, reports say.

But hours after his triumph, Erdogan appeared to be in no great hurry about a second motion, saying Turkey needed more assurances from Washington on the future of neighboring Iraq before it could authorize the deployment of U.S. troops.

In particular, Turkey was demanding guarantees on the rights of Iraq's Turkmen population and on role Turkey would play in Iraq, he said, in apparent reference to Turkey's insistence that it have a say in the future makeup of Iraq.

Turkey has close ethnic ties with the Turkmens and says it fears that their rights are being overlooked by the more numerous Kurds and Arabs.

Erdogan already wields considerable power in the government and Gul has long been considered to be a caretaker prime minister with it being only a matter of time before the popular politician would take over.